The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

Invest $100 that earns a 6% annual return and you'll have $106 a year later. The uninitiated might expect to see $112 in their account after two, but they'd actually have $112.36 because interest not only accrued on the original principal of $100, ...

You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the sign post up ahead, your next stop … The Personal Finance Twilight ...

Many people believe birth order is responsible for their status in life.
I happen to be a first-born child, which is why I love to remind my younger sister that scientific studies suggest first-born kids are smarter than their ...

How many times have you heard somebody lament that all their financial troubles would disappear if only they had a little more money?
The thing is, those are the same people who believe that financial stability is only possible with higher ...

Last summer my 12-year-old daughter, Nina, was extolling the fashion virtues of her hot pink Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star high-top sneakers, better known to many as simply, "Chucks."
What I found amusing was while Nina really thought she was on ...

There are people out there who swear that if you're lucky enough to see the first flower of springtime on a Friday, it's a sign of impending wealth.
I know. I don't buy it either.
Still, let's assume these folks know what they're talking about; ...

As the old saying goes, knowledge is power.
When it comes to tracking personal finances, one of the most important pieces of information in you can have in your knowledge database is a detailed summary that highlights where your household income ...

The following is a guest post by my friend, Craig Ford. Craig teaches people how to find the best travel credit card sign up bonuses so they can get free travel.
by Craig Ford
We all know competition is good. It's good for we, the people.
I ...

Last month we found a letter in our mailbox from Discover credit cards that was addressed to my teenage son, Matthew.
Now why would Discover be contacting my son?
You know, the mere thought of a credit card in my 14-year-old son's hands really ...

This guest post is from Paula Pant of Afford Anything, the blog that believes money should never hinder your dreams.
I have a confession. Normally I spend a lot of time emphasizing the importance of cultivating habits that reduce your desire to ...

Today I'm pleased to present this guest post from my good friend Paula Pant of Afford Anything — the blog that believes money should never hinder your dreams. If you get a chance, stop by her site and check it out -- you won't be ...

I have a love/hate relationship with my credit card company. Last week I got a little taste of both after they sent me another mailbox surprise.
You see, although my current Citi Dividends Mastercard didn't expire until 2014, they went ahead and ...

by Angie Picardo
“If you apply for a [store name] credit card today you can get [arbitrary number]% off your purchase.” I can’t remember the last time I was able to go to a mall without being bombarded with pitches for store credit cards. I always ...

by Joy Paley
Joy Paley is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on the subject of becoming a nail technician for the Guide to Career Education.
There are lots of good uses for the seemingly dozens of credit card offers most ...

I bought my first home in 1990 at the top of the Southern California real estate market and promptly found myself with an "underwater" mortgage. And although I owed more than the home was worth over the next seven long years, I never walked away from ...

In an ideal world we all want to be debt-free; and borrowing money is something that we all should approach with caution. However, when it comes to living a real life, very few of us will be able to escape borrowing money to finance a larger ...

According to Freddie Mac's most recent survey, there is currently a spread of 0.79 percent between the 15- and 30-year fixed rate mortgage benchmarks, which just so happens to be the largest spread since Freddie started tracking the 15-year mortgage ...

You might think that credit cards for people with excellent credit are universally the best products available, and that the quality of a credit card naturally rises in accordance with the credit level required to get it. You might believe that high ...

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you ten characteristics of debt-free people of modest means.
In that article I specifically asked my readers to consider this question:
"Why is it that there are families out there with household incomes under ...

It is a truism that most big spenders are showoffs; they feed off attention.
Ironically, while your typical big spender works 24/7 trying to impress others, most of the time they rarely do so.
There is a small segment of the population, however, ...

Disclaimer

This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and the content herein should not be mistaken for professional financial advice. Ultimately, you and you alone are responsible for the decisions you make in life, so please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your particular situation. This website accepts cash advertising, sponsorship, and other forms of compensation that may occasionally influence advertising content or topics of discussion.